A Fool's Gamble
by HunterBerserkerWolf
Summary: Souji Seta takes a gamble. Will it pay off?
1. Chapter 1: Five Minutes

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 Golden. I make no monetary gain from this story.**

 **A Fool's Gamble**

 **Chapter 1: Five Minutes**

Dangerous. Naoto Shirogane was dangerous. Souji Seta could readily admit that as he watched the Detective Prince walking away. The comment about their game coming to an end had stung, certainly, but Rise's words had also been strong. But it was Naoto's words afterwards that caused some concern. How a detective was not supposed to form emotional attachment, moving from case to case. It sounded like a lonely experience, one that Souji was more than familiar with.

But Souji tapped a finger on the wooden Junes table as he thought, his mind churning out an idea. "The nerve of him." Rise said with a huff. "This isn't a game to us." She crossed her arms, with a slight scowl on her face that definitely didn't fit the idol.

Souji agreed to an extent. It wasn't a game. But from an outsider looking in, it could certainly be seen as such. They weren't sharing their information with the police after all. Not that if they would, they would be listened to. Shadows, Persona, a world inside the TV? It was asinine, and not everyone was likely to give them the time of day to try and prove it.

He decided on his course of action after just a little bit longer. "Guys, meet me in the TV in ten minutes." He said. "Yosuke, let me borrow your glasses. Teddie, we're going to need a new pair as well."

Yosuke pulled out his orange rimmed glasses. "Partner?" He asked a bit curiously as he held them out. He looked as though he was about to say something else.

Souji took the glasses. "Just trust me, yeah?" He asked. He tucked the glasses into his pocket beside his own pair. He stood up and moved away from the table, after Naoto Shirogane. "Shirogane-San, a moment please." He said as he caught up to the other male of shorter stature. Not that Souji was about to use his own height to intimidate or bully the detective.

The Detective turned to look at him, glancing at Souji with those grey eyes. "Seta-San, I thought our conversation was over." He said a little cooly.

Souji supposed he deserved that. "I am not the law, but I am Justice so far as my feeble powers may go." He quoted. He figured the detective would appreciate crime literature, including some of the most famous.

Those eyes widened a moment as recognition hit. "Sherlock Holmes." The other boy said after a moment.

Souji took a moment to think. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."

Now those eyes narrowed dangerously. "Is there a reason you are quoting a fictional detective, Seta-san?" Souji wondered if the Detective thought he was patronizing him.

"Five minutes." Souji said. "Give me five minutes of your time. Five minutes and I will tell you everything that we know. No more guesswork on your end. It's going to sound inconceivable, impossible, even complete and utter nonsense. But if you give me five minutes, I will give you irrefutable proof. All I ask is for five minutes of your time and you don't interrupt me with questions while I'm talking. Give me the full five minutes, don't try to distract me, don't try to stall me. Just give me five minutes to tell you this improbable story."

Naoto looked at Souji with narrowed eyes. He wished he could read minds to know what was going through the Detective's brain. An arm came up and the sleeve was pushed back slightly to reveal a watch. Naoto held up a single finger, watching the watch for several moments. ' _Probably waiting for the next minute_ ' Souji thought.

"Five minutes." Naoto said after a moment, his tone still cool. It seemed, for now, Souji had his attention.

Souji nodded his head. "Walk and talk." He said and began to head for the electronics section of Junes. "I arrived shortly before the first victim, Yamano-san, was killed. In fact, my first day of school was the day she was found." He knew what he was saying was sounding damming. "Detective Dojima has already questioned me about it, he has to look at the facts available to him. And I keep popping up near his investigation. I know how it looks." Souji shook his head. "Literally the next day, I met with Saki Konishi as well. But that is where the story gets stranger, so hold that Holmes quote close to chest."

Souji went to the elevators and held the door for Naoto who was following with a pronounced frown on his face. No doubt he was thinking along similar lines as Dojima. "Chie brought up a silly rumor, one you'd find in every small town like Inaba. The Midnight Channel. It goes that if you look at an unplugged TV at midnight on a night it rains, you see your soulmate. Silly sounding, asinine, yet Chie said we, meaning Chie, Yosuke, and myself, should try it."

Souji noticed the arched eyebrow Naoto was giving him. He deserved that. "I know how stupid it sounds. But I wanted to be a normal kid when I got here to Inaba, I thought it might be neat to try and then have a laugh with Yosuke and Chie about is being dumb. So imagine my surprise when at midnight, my TV turned on and I saw a hazy female figure on the screen. I could hardly believe it and reached out to touch it. My hand sank into my TV." Now Naoto had a disbelieving look. "Again, crazy sounding, but there is a reason we're going to the Junes Electronics department. And I still have approximately three minutes left."

Souji inhaled a bit, he generally didn't talk much and given how much he was talking, he needed a moment. Even drama didn't have him speaking so much. He got to have quieter roles.

Speaking of, he really needed to continue. "The next day, Yosuke, Chie, and myself all agreed upon seeing a female form on TV. They thought I must have been dreaming when I mentioned putting my hand in my screen. Don't blame them. We came to Junes and they even made a show out of putting their hands against a TV screen. They cracked a few jokes, and for just an instance, I believed that I had to be dreaming. Until I did it again. This time, I actually started to crawl through to see what I could see, I was curious and my little TV definitely is not conducive for going through. We eventually ended up going through and finding some disturbing imagery. A hotel room with posters and the faces cut from them of the Enka Singer that Namatame is married to, a single chair in the corner with a red scarf tied over it like a noose."

Souji watched the look on Naoto's face go from incredulous, even a touch amused to serious in an instance. A scarf with a chair under it like that was a typical suicide method. He could see the questions in Naoto's eyes, but he was keeping to what Souji said about not interrupting.

Souji glanced at his own watch. "I'm going to have to condense this more. We encountered Teddie on our way back, Teddie being an inhabitant from that world. He mentioned someone throwing people inside that other world, and that the inhabitants of that world were the reasons for their deaths. Generally when the fog lifts on the other side, and the fog descends on this side. Surely you've noticed how we've had an unusual amount of rain."

Souji adjusted his bag that he generally brought any time he left, just in case they had to make an emergency trip into the TV. "We eventually determined that it was Saki Konishi that appeared. Yosuke and I went back in a second time for answers, and got more than we bargained for. The next one to be thrown in was Yukiko Amagi, but we got her out before she was killed. Same with Kanji Tatsumi, same with Rise Kujikawa. We're working on determining the victim profiles, and our only explanation is that the victims have each been shown on TV."

Naoto frowned a bit more, thinking about what he said. But they made their way to the Electronics department. Souji went directly to the TV they used to crawl through and stood back. "I have about a minute left to convince you, so take a couple seconds and examine the TV, figure out it's a normal TV." He said.

Naoto looked to Souji before stepping towards the TV. The sleuth simply reached out and laid his hand flat on the screen. He even pushed slightly to make it rock. A few button presses on the side to change the volume, enter the settings, and turn it off, and the Detective stepped back.

Souji stepped forward and wordlessly put his hand through the TV. Up to the elbow even. "Now, do you want to give me more than five minutes where I can explain more in detail and show you the absurdity of the other side? Or do you want to walk away and try playing catch up?" Souji asked.

Naoto looked at the screen before looking up at Souji's eyes. He looked confused, but determined. "You have my attention now Seta-san." Naoto said as professionally as could be.

"We'll go through under two conditions." Souji said. He was slipping into what Yosuke liked to call Leadership mode. "If you start feeling ill, tell me. Don't try to act tough about it, we don't know what the weather on the other side does, but just a short time in there had Yosuke, Chie, and myself exhausted like I ran a marathon and we didn't do anything more strenuous than walking. I was ready to throw up even. Second, you stay behind me and do as I tell you."

Naoto frowned and even glared at Souji. "Are you saying that I am helpless?" he asked. His tone could have frozen the sun.

"No, I'm saying that you do not have the tools necessary to combat the forces over there. It's more than just being capable physically." Souji said. He touched Naoto's shoulder and moved the other boy closer to him and the TV screen. "I apologize about touching you, but it's a bit of a drop so I'm going to brace you." Souji then began to move them forward to the TV.

It was still a disorienting experience, but Souji landed with Naoto in a crouch on the stage like entrance. He stood up and pulled out both pairs of glasses from his pocket. "Put these on." he told Naoto while he put his own on. He was glad to see the fog clear up.

Naoto looked to the glasses a moment before he put them on his head. "What!?' He asked, no doubt reacting to being able to see. Souji watched the sleuth remove them before putting them back on. "That is…"

"We'll get you a pair of your own properly." Souji said. He put the bag at his feet and unzipped it. From it, he pulled out his armor that he got from Daidara's shop. "Here. Put this on." he said. He'd be less protected without wearing it, but he'd rather Naoto not get hurt as much as he could help it.

He watched Naoto hold it out in his hands a moment. "Is this real?" he asked, running his fingers over it.

"As real as it needs to be." Souji said as he pulled out the replica katana from the bag and stood up. He watched the defensive way that Naoto took a step back. "Relax, it's to defend us." he explained. "We, the Investigation Team as we've taken to calling ourselves, have managed to figure out that we're able to bring realistic looking replicas into this strange world and have them manifest as being real. This katana, outside, couldn't cut rice paper." A bit of an exaggeration, but it would serve the purpose of explaining how useless it was outside. "In here though…" Souji sighed and unsheathed it a bit before running his thumb along the edge, holding up the bleeding digit. "The armor is the same way. It's designed to look as realistic as possible."

Naoto frowned a moment before he slipped it on over his head. Souji would have worn it under the shirt, but then again, it was big enough that it looked oversized on Naoto's more slender frame. "I believe I have a model revolver that could fit that bill." He said. "It even came with several speed loaders."

Souji nodded his head. "Right, but don't come in through any TV but that particular one in Junes. We don't know where the others deposit us, and this world is dangerous enough that we can't really afford to explore like that." He put the sheath in his bag before he tossed it onto some stairs on the set. Balancing the katana on his shoulder, he looked at Naoto. "Now, ready to go see the inhabitants? Yosuke and the others will be along shortly, but I know the path well enough to one of the first areas. It won't be too dangerous by myself if we're careful."

Naoto gave him a nod so Souji began to lead the way to Yukiko's castle. Given the number of times he had gone there versus the number of times he had gone to the other places, it wasn't difficult to remember the path.

Naoto Shirogane followed along behind Souji Seta, her eyes watching his back carefully. He led her to some grandiose castle, though the plaque near the front read it as Amagi Inn. She frowned slightly, glancing behind her at the distance they had travelled. It was a stereotypical castle that tended to populate all manner of fiction, making it hardly an actual military fortress as it was intended.

She followed him inside her boots silenced by the plush red carpet they moved along. But he came to a corner and motioned her to take cover against it in front of him. She did so, glancing around the corner at a black ooze like thing that just moved along the floor, shambling with no real direction intended. "That is a Shadow. Most are mindless." Souji told her. He then stepped out from behind her and she cut him a look. "Just watch. You'll see what I mean about the tools needed to fight in this world." He began to head towards the Shadow. At the last moment, he dashed forward and cut into it. It popped like a balloon filled with ink.

From that ink rose a hideous orb like creature that seemed to be just a mouth with an over exaggerated tongue. Naoto felt herself shiver just slightly. This place couldn't be right. But instead of being concerned, Souji shifted his stance to a better ready stance with his sword down towards his side. He raised his left hand up.

"Izanagi!" He declared. Naoto could see some sort of spinning blue and white card come to life before he crushed it in his hand. It shattered, for lack of a better term, and from behind him a massive figure wearing black clothing and holding a blade in one hand formed up. It had a silver metaled helm on its head, but Naoto could make out the glowing golden eyes. "Mazionga!" Improbably, bolts of lightning came down, striking the mouth creatures and making them fade like ash in the wind.

"What in the world was that?" Naoto asked, coming up as she watched Souji relax.

"A Persona." He said, giving her a name for it. "It is… a representation of yourself, capable of fighting. It is similar to a Shadow, but more tame in nature." He explained.

"And anyone can have one of these things?" Naoto asked, mind already working the facts over.

"I don't know." he answered honestly. "My entire group has one, each of us, but it generally comes after dealing with their Shadows, their repressed feelings and desires. Mine is named Izanagi."

"And they are all capable of summoning bolts of lightning?"

"No, some are able to use wind, others ice, and another set use Fire. We're only supposed to have one Persona, but something about me makes me special. I can use many. Izanagi was just my first. Come on, we need to head back to the entrance. Rise might be able to sense us, or Teddie smell us, but I'd rather not linger here too long." And with that, they began to head back. But when they came to the studio-esque setup of the entrance, things took a turn.

Naoto was at a loss for words, a not wholly new experience for her, but one that was becoming increasingly common around Souji Seta. It was not a pleasant experience that she enjoyed either, but she was willing to give him some leeway. For the past half hour, he had answered more questions than she had been able to get answered in months of investigating in Inaba on her own. He certainly raised more, but given how quickly he had argued his side in the span of five minutes to get her at least willing to listen, she couldn't exactly be upset by it.

However, seeing her own Shadow greet them at the set was... More surprising than she had given credence to. Souji's visceral swear matched the one she said in her head. It was dressed in the same teal blue dress shirt with yellow tie hanging haphazardly low because of the growing heat. The same pair of dark navy blue slacks, the same dark brown hard soled boots that gave her just a slight bit more height. The same dark blue cap. Only she wore an oversized white lab coat, with the sleeves practically falling over her hands and instead of her dark grey eyes, her Shadow had eerie yellow eyes.

Souji took two steps forward, putting himself between her and her Shadow. She wanted to frown at him, but having seen the power of Persona, she could hardly argue that he was better equipped to handle the task if her Shadow went berserk. Even still, she wore his armor over her chest, he was without a better defense.

Her Shadow cut her eyes at Souji and set her lips into a slight frown that grew more pronounced at the sight of the bare sword. She knew that look. It was not a look that meant pleasant things.

"Shiroga-" Souji cut himself off as he saw the look her Shadow gave. It turned to one of anger. "Naoto" He amended to the relaxed look of the Shadow. He had to be quite good at reading people if he was able to pick up on her tells. There had only been a slight narrowing of the eyes followed by an ever so slight tilt of the lips. "-San?" He questioned before amending it at the sight of her Shadow's narrowed eyes again. "-kun. Naoto-kun." Her Shadow seemed pleased at the familiar way he spoke to her. "I know you want to be accepted by Shirogane-San," he motioned back to her. At least he could keep his manners towards the real her. "I know you want him to admit to his innermost desires. I know you represent his suppressed side. Naoto-kun, please, whatever you say, give me five minutes once your done to help Shirogane-San work through it. Please. Just five minutes."

Her Shadow tilted its head a moment. " **He's so similar to Sam.** " Her Shadow said in a softer manner, her voice almost a match for the pitch of her natural octave. But bringing up a fictional character? Naoto supposed she could see some similarities between Souji and Sam. " **Strong, confidence, masculine...** " Naoto felt a lead pit forming in her stomach. " **Mature. Things you long for.** " Her Shadow said. That lead pit grew more. " **Maybe if you were a little more masculine, a little more mature, they'd welcome you longer than how long it takes to solve a case. Already, you see it happening. You're being brushed aside, left out of the loop. It's so lonely, I'm tired of being alone**." The words were like a knife twisting in Naoto's stomach. Her Shadow took two steps forward towards Souji. " **They don't care for us. All they want is the gray matter locked upstairs. Once they have what they want from us, it is back to the playpen. When they need us, we are an ace detective, when they are finished, we are but a child. No matter how many cases we spend hours cogitating over, no matter how many cases we solve. We are a child in their eyes**." She said, looking up at the disparaging height difference between herself and Souji.

" **Always alone, no one ever wants us around. We haven't the means to handle society's two faced nature. And so we try to emulate those detectives. Smart, masculine... Just to stop the words. 'You're only a child.' 'Keep out of our business kid.'** " She actually put her hand on Souji's stomach. " **But it never changes the irrefutable fact that we will never be that. 'I want to be a grown up, I want to be a big boy right now.' At our core, we admire the sort of 'strong' and 'cool' men that populate detective fiction. But in truth, we're nothing of the sort. Naoto Shirogane... Such a strong, manly name. But it changes nothing of the fact we were never born a male at all.** "

"Stop it. No." Naoto spoke. Her voice was a bit shaky but she got it under control. "You're wrong." She ignored the harsh look her Shadow was giving her. "I won't throw a tantrum, it accomplishes nothing."

"Shirogane-San, do shut up." Souji actually scolded her. He then looked at her Shadow. "Naoto-kun, look at me." He said. But her Shadow refused. "Naoto-kun! I know you want accepted!" Finally her Shadow looked up at him. Was he really so naive that he thought that? She wanted to solve the damned case. "I know you want to be angry, I do." He said softer. Did he think her that weak? "Five minutes... Please. Before you call for more Shadows."

Her Shadow smiled ever so slightly. " **So kind... And compassionate. I would like you quite a lot.** " She watched her Shadow lean up and actually kiss Souji on the lips. He clearly had not expected that, as he recoiled slightly. " **Don't throw a tantrum. How many times have we heard that? 'Don't throw a tantrum Naoto-kun, it accomplishes nothing' and other such bilge. Everything we do is so maddeningly spectacular at failing to change the way things are. I quite understand the feeling, I am you.** "

"That's not true!" Souji then turned to her and Naoto widened her stance. "I don't know what game you are playing at Seta-san." She said. She was vehemently denying that thing as her Shadow.

"Shirogane-San, please, would you stop?" Souji asked almost snarling the words at her. "I haven't done anything but bring you here. I didn't bring you here to make you look like a fool. But if your Shadow attacks, we're dead. Both of us. And then the truth will be lost to the fog. Yosuke? Chie? Kanji? Rise? Yukiko? Teddie? None of them think like you do. None of them have your expertise. We have made great headway so far, but Morooka's death has us going in circles. It throws everything we thought for a loop."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Seta-San. That impudent child's words are-"

"Are the damned truth!" Souji said, cutting her off. "I've seen it, over and over and over again. Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, Teddie, and now you. You're so busy vehemently denying what she's saying, you're not even thinking about the dangers. Damn it, if she summons the Shadows to her because you are denying her, then we will die."

" **Only she will.** " Naoto's Shadow said.

Souji grimaced. "I can't stand back and do nothing Naoto-kun. If you attack, I will try to defend Shirogane-san."

"I am not a weak child." Naoto said angrily. What was it that lost her the modicum of respect he had given her?

"No, you're not!" Souji's angry shout startled her. "I know it, but I know how dangerous this World is. I've been doing this for a while and I'm starting to pick up how powerful Shadows are. And just standing this close to your Shadow tells me I'm nowhere near ready for it by myself." He took two steps towards her. Whether to intimidate or bully her, Naoto didn't know but she refused to back down.

"Whatever your hang ups are, I don't care." Souji said strongly. "I don't. Girl, boy, special Investigator or amateur sleuth or lonely child, I don't care. Shirogane-san, I'm asking you, begging you, stop lying to yourself. I asked you to come with, to give me five minutes of your time because at any given moment, you are the most dangerous person in a room. You knew Kanji was going to be a target. You knew we had something to do with Rise's safe return. You knew we had something to do with the case and came to tell us about the police's suspect. I respect the fact you are the most dangerous person in a room because you see things that others can't or won't. I'm willing to even bet you came to the same conclusion that I did, that Morooka's death doesn't match up with the first two deaths." Souji stared at her intently.

Dangerous. Souji Seta thought she was dangerous? He had to have thirty centimeters and a good twenty kilos on her, and she was apparently dangerous. She looked past him to her Shadow. Morooka's death did bother her. Souji had been nothing but respectful. He didn't treat her like a child. The precautions he took were not because he thought she was helpless, but because she did not have the tools to defend herself. But to admit... Those things.

"I have heard everyone"s Shadow." Souji said carefully. "Every secret laid to bare and worse even. I didn't have a Shadow. But I think I know what it would say. What my deepest desires are."

Naoto looked up to the silverette. She didn't understand why he was telling her this.

"That I just want to be accepted. That I just want the loneliness to go away." Souji told her. She didn't expect the knife like pain of familiarity. "I moved around, city to city, every six months to a year. A year and a half at longest. I'm sick of it. I want to be able to make lasting friendships. I want someone to ask me to stick around. Please, Shirogane-san, be honest with yourself. I know what it's like to be crushed under that loneliness."

Damn it. Naoto looked from Souji towards her Shadow. Damn it. She grabbed the cap from her head and wrung it between her hands. Damn it. "Damn you Souji Seta. Damn you, Damn her and Damn me." She said. She took two steps towards her Shadow and place a hand on her hip, mirroring its stance out of habit. "You're right. I do just want to be accepted. My parents died when I was young, and my grandpa took me in. I was inept at making friends, so I buried myself in detective literature."

" **When I grow up, I'm going to be an awesome, hard-boiled detective.** " Naoto's shadow chimed in.

"I was glad to follow in the footsteps of my mother, my father, my grandpa. I welcomed it. I yearned for the day I could be a detective." She inhaled. "Not everyone welcomes my collaborations when I join a Prefecture though. Were it just my age, it would eventually not be an issue. But the police department is a male oriented workspace, having a girl do what grown men cannot would slight more and I would be incapable of helping." Naoto closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'm sorry. You've been inside me this whole time, and I have blatantly ignored you. What I should yearn for ian't to be an adult or to be male, what I should strive for is to accept myself for who I am. All I have been doing is running away."

Naoto's Shadow gave a bright smile and a nod of her head. She then cut her eyes towards Souji. " **And?** " The Shadow asked.

Naoto blushed a moment. She could feel her face heating up. "And... Seta-san is... Easy on the eyes." She admitted. "If I had time for such frivolities, I might have even been pursuant of him."

Naoto's Shadow smile brightly before moving over to Souji. " **Ta Ta, Senpai~!** " She said brightly before she changed. Naoto watched as she faded, turning into a small, darkly dressed insect like creature with a sword much longer than it. It then vanished and a tarot card appeared, drifting down to show the Wheel of Fortune.

"Sukuna-hikona." Naoto said lightly, putting a hand to her chest.

"Look out below!" The rest of the Team came spilling down, most of them landing gracefully., Naoto taking a step back a bit. Rise Kujikawa hadn't yet figured out the best way to land it seemed, nor the blonde boy… Teddie was it?

Souji cut a look over to his team and grabbed his bag. He put his sword in its sheath and tucked it back into his bag. "You're late Yosuke." he said.

"Ah.. Sorry Partner, I tried to tell you but you left quickly. We were having a sale in the Electronics section for an hour." Yosuke said. "Got crowded pretty quickly, everything okay?" She could see various members of the group cutting their eyes towards her.

Souji moved to stand by her a moment and he glanced down. "How much do you want me to say?" he asked.

She was a bit surprised at that and closed her eyes. "Minimal." She said, letting her higher pitched and more natural voice come out to the surprise of the group.

"Wait… Naoto-kun is a…" Yukiko Amagi spoke from the side, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Yes, I am a girl about Kujikawa-san and Tatsumi-san's age." She said, closing her eyes. No use in denying it, not when she felt Sukuna-Hikona within.

"And Naoto-kun," He cut his eyes at her and she gave a nod at the familiar name. "Managed to accept her Shadow, granting her a Persona." Souji said. Minimal, nothing about what was discussed. He turned to face her. "I'd like your help, please. King Moron's death threw everything we knew out the window, but I have a few theories to that."

Naoto inclined her head. "I would be more than happy to help if I can." she said. She didn't know where this would lead her, but she was willing to lay her cards on the table. After all, if she was represented by the Wheel of Fortune, she should take a gamble.

It was the least she could do. Souji Seta had taken one on her.

Chapter End

 **A/N: So… something I just threw together in my spare time. It won't take the place of my other Persona story, this thing will probably be updated one every two weeks to once a month. I've mostly wrote it on my phone, so please excuse any errors I didn't find that are from transitioning from a quick memo on my phone to an actual document on my Chromebook.**

 **Regarding the name of the protaganist. I hold no preferential treatment towards either Yu Narukami or Souji Seta. I hold no bias towards them either. They're just names to me representing the main character. In my first story, Yu Narukami won the coin flip. This one's going to be Souji Seta.**

 **And yes, I wrote Yu several times in the process of writing this.**

 **I just wanted to throw out the idea of introducing Naoto to the party a full two dungeons ahead of time. Should make for an interesting time, especially with Naoto's gender already being out in the open. What with there being a beach trip and the trip to Port Island.**

 **And yes, I blatantly wrote it as there being an initial, albeit superficial physical attraction between Naoto and Souji. Should make the King's game interesting.**


	2. Chapter 2: White Lies

Chapter 2: White Lies and Hospitals

Souji was not having a good day. That wasn't to say it was a bad day. Wet, both from the rain from the day before and the current downpour expected to last into the night. No, the sole fault of why Souji was not having a good day lay with Souji Seta.

And he was still proud!

He was congested, his throat felt swollen, his sinuses felt like they were going to kill him. His eyes hurt, he was running a fever, and the medicine he had taken for the illness was still in his system, making him look and feel like a zombie that day at school.

But he had done it and that was all that mattered. Victory had been achieved! It had been a tough fight, one that put everything he learned to the test. He had even fallen once, but he had kept his weapon in hand. It had been a long, grueling, merciless battle.

But he had caught the Shichiri Beach Guardian!

So when they were finally released for the day, Souji had never been more grateful. While there always seemed like there was one more project to do, one more person to talk to, one more job to get to, Souji had no desire to do more than go home and sleep. He had been strongly tempted to stay home that day, but as his father had always told him, 'When you make a mistake, you own up to it, regardless of how you feel.'

Souji didn't think catching the beach guardian had been a mistake, but it was his decision to stand in the rain, soaking wet, trying to catch a fish of thirty kilos. It was his decision, he owned up to it, he dug his heels into the ground and grit his teeth to bear with the day.

"Senpai," He was greeted. Souji did not groan. He turned to look at Naoto. The sleuth had decided to stay and while the Police ran after what the Investigation Team felt was the wrong guy, she would be attending Yasogami High as a First Year, though they were almost on summer break. She arched one of those thin eyebrows at him. "You look unwell. Should we reschedule?" She asked.

"No.' Souji said. He rubbed his face. Right, hospital trip. Naoto wanted to confirm that everyone was doing well enough and see what Modern Medicine might see about Teddie. "You went through the trouble of getting a Doctor to look at us all. It's just a minor illness. I'll be back on my feet in a day or two, as I'm sure they will tell me."

Naoto seemed unconvinced but nodded her head anyways. "I suppose illness can strike at anytime."

"It was my own fault." Souji said. "Went fishing in the rain yesterday. Wouldn't have been so bad, but my query managed to pull me in." He said.

She looked incredulous at that. It was a good look, Souji determined, one that was out of place from the usual knowing look she had. "Pull you in? Into the Samegawa?" She asked.

Souji shook his head. "I caught the Samegawa River guardian about two weeks ago. I'm talking about the Shichiri Beach Guardian. Sea fishing. Thing was thirty kilos, but any story I tell from this point forward I'm saying thirty five." He was a fisherman. He loved to fish. While he wasn't usually a braggart, he saw no harm in a little white lie about the size of a fish.

She put a hand on her hip. "Then why tell me the real size?" Naoto asked.

"Because you'll probably see through the embellishment." Souji knew who and what he was dealing with. A sleuth of not so inconsiderable ability. Why else would she be brought on? Why else would Dojima be driven to drink because of it? He pulled his phone out and went to the picture of the Beach Guardian on the stones, the fishing rod he used above it as reference. It had been a big, huge fish.

Naoto looked a bit surprised. "And you said it pulled you in?" She asked.

"Waist deep water." Souji told her. "If you haven't noticed though, I'm sorta tall, so even when I fell backwards, my head managed to stay above the water some."

"You are a fool sometimes Seta-Senpai." Naoto said.

"Yo, Partner." Yosuke came down the steps. "Naoto," he greeted the sleuth as well. "Chie and Yukiko will be down in a second. Teddie is supposed to be meeting us here any seco-"

"Sensei!" Souji turned to see the blonde running in, shaking the umbrella a bit to get the water off before he closed it up.

"Speak of the devil." Yosuke said. "So we ready to do this?" He asked with a slight grimace.

Souji didn't blame him. They were after all going to a hospital. He saw Kanji and Rise walk up, Yukiko and Chie coming down. They certainly made for a fine group. "Alright then, let's go." He said. As they swapped their shoes out, he rested his head against his shoe locker, giving a slight sigh.

"You okay Senpai?" Rise asked.

"Fine. Fine, just not feeling my best." Souji said to the cheerful girl that was worried about him. He saw the frowns he was getting. "Went fishing in the rain yesterday. Hard to struggle with a pole if I'm holding an umbrella."

"After the Samegawa River Guardian, huh?" Yosuke asked. "Good luck. Plenty of people come in with snapped lines, looking to get more fishing lines."

Souji shook his head as he stepped out into the rain, opening the umbrella. "Why does everyone assume I'm catching the River Guardian? I already caught that like two weeks ago."

"Really Senpai?" Kanji asked sounding amazed.

"Sensei is beary amazing." Teddie said, sounding awestruck.

"Yeah, caught the Shichiri Beach Guardian. Thirty five Kilos of fish. The River guardian was only twenty kilos." Souji used his phone to text Naoto discreetly. ' **Was only fifteen.** ' He watched the sleuth as she pulled her phone out. She gave a slight quirk of her lips as she read the truth.

"Something funny Naoto-kun?" Yukiko asked.

"Ah..." A quick glance at Souji before Naoto smiled a bit more. "My grandpa's assistant, Yakushiji, texts me my grandpa's antics from time to time so I'm not caught flat footed." Souji could hardly believe that she wasn't telling the others of his little white lie.

He'd have to do something nice for that.

"What'd he do this time?" Kanji asked a bit curiously.

Naoto tucked her phone away. "Things he really shouldn't be doing at his age. As healthy as he is, a man in his sixties should not be chasing down criminals on foot."

"Woah, your grandpa sounds badass." Yosuke said.

Souji agreed to that. He turned as he walked a bit, taking sight of his friends. They each had their own colored umbrella, and they made for quite the sight.

"Hey, Senpai?" Rise caught his attention from under her yellow umbrella.

"Yeah?" Souji asked.

"You got top grade in your year right?" She asked.

Souji shrugged his shoulders. "Sure." He said. "Don't rightly know if I'm the right person to be asking to help study though."

"That's right." Chie said. "I rarely see you studying, how is it that you have the top grade?" She asked.

Souji shrugged his shoulders. "I do most of my studying at night. Fewer distractions that way. Plus, I have a ridiculous ability to retain information. Usually horrible with names, but information sticks up in the brain to rattle around for a long time." He glanced back at the group, some of them looking a bit incredulous. "What? I still study. I'm just lucky that it sticks better."

Chie shook her head. "Man, you and Yukiko both."

"Huh?" Yukiko asked. "I also tend to study at night. It's especially useful when it rains."

Naoto reached up to lightly tug her hat down slightly. "I too study at night for approximately two hours. I find it easier to do as the last thing of the day versus having something else going on to get in the way."

"Oh man, so I just need to change my study habits?" Yosuke asked. "Jeez. But Teddie lives with me that would be impossible."

"I might have a book I can loan you." Souji said. "Taught me a few techniques I didn't already know to studying. Helps that for English, I take notes in English." That actually got him looks from everyone. "What?"

Kanji shook his head slightly. "Can we not talk about school?" He asked sounding almost depressed. "What's everyone's plans for summer?"

Well, Souji didn't have a lick of fishing to do anymore... He would probably still do it, but given the two biggest fish were already caught, he'd be mostly catching small fry.

"Oh! We talked about everyone getting their scooter license, why not?" Yosuke asked. "We can all get together and go to the beach some time."

"That sounds fun." Rise said. She had a sly look on her face as she increased her pace a bit to walk beside Souji. He was immediately on guard. "Who do you want to see in a bathing suit the most Senpai?" She asked.

"Man, she's really dangerous." Chie said from besides Yukiko.

That question felt like a trap to Souji. There was the off the wall answer of saying Kanji, he could probably get away with it. There was the simple answer of claiming Rise, but that held inherent problems as well.

Namely the three other girls he was walking with.

Souji thought about saying Naoto, but something struck him as her not being the type to so casually wear a bathing suit. Plus there was that whole giant elephant in the room that was the superficial feelings she had towards him based on physical looks. Yeah.. He really didn't want to touch that one.

He did actually. He did think Naoto was cute. Especially in her casual wear for the summer. But still, she said it herself, they didn't exactly have time for such frivolities. He wished he could have time for them, but the case had to come first. And it was a bit of a morose thought that told him he would have never met Naoto if it wasn't for the case.

Yeah...

But Rise was still looking at him expectantly. He was tempted to just say Kanji, just to throw everyone off the ball. "I can't decide." He finally said after stretching the silence as long as he could. The pitter patter of the rain continued to sound off his umbrella.

"Aw, he's trying to think of everyone." Rise said a bit cheerfully.

Sure. He'd go with that. He glanced to Kanji and Teddie. With a sigh, he ran a hand over his face. "Better question, what do we do about those two?" He asked.

"I can keep up on my bike Senpai." Kanji said. "Little 50cc scooter, no problem."

"Kanji," Souji said. "The beach is about an hour away on my scooter, uphill for about five kilometers."

There was a pause at that as everyone turned to look at Kanji and Teddie. Kanji was not yet old enough to get his scooter license, and Teddie had no real documentation to speak of. Making them bike and skate respectively two hours, five kilometers of which was uphill, seemed cruel.

"We definitely can't have them sitting on the back either." Yosuke said with a shudder.

No doubt he was remembering the debacle of when Souji, Kanji, and Yosuke had all gone to Okina city. Souji had a grand ol time, watching them try, and fail, to get numbers from women. Reminded him of the time Kou had set up that group blind date with him and Daisuke.

Both times had been spectacular disasters.

He thought about it a moment. "If we're careful, we can hitch Kanji to the back of my scooter." He said. "Uncle Ryotaro said he had it tweaked back when it was his, it can technically go faster than what it's limited to, so mine probably has more torque than what everyone else can get. Teddie can probably grab the back of Yosuke's scooter for a bit and hold on."

"I have been meaning to get a scooter license." Naoto said thoughtfully. "It would give me more range to operate a little more freely. I will have to check with grandpa as to options."

"You're not against coming?" Kanji asked a bit surprised, and blushing if Souji didn't miss his guess.

He kept the frown off his face. Even as he felt something tighten in his stomach. Just the illness flaring up. Nothing wrong at all.

" _Do not lie to thyself_." Hearing the rasping, almost grating metallic voice of Izanagi in his head when he had a migraine did nothing for Souji. He grabbed his head as his vision swam a bit.

He heard the cries of his friends, and acquaintance in the form of Naoto. He waved them off a bit. "Nothing. It's nothing. Just... Izanagi likes to speak to me in my head and remind me of things." Like not lying to himself. Jealousy. He had felt jealousy flare up at Kanji's question. And Izanagi wasn't letting him forget it.

"Woah, your Persona talks to you?" Yosuke asked. "That's awesome partner."

"And a bit concerning." Naoto said as she frowned.

Souji glanced up to his friends. "Do yours not?" He was met with seven slow shakes of the head. "Great. I'm even weirder. Multiple Persona and even a talking one.' He sighed but continued walking towards the hospital.

"Senpai, are you certain you are well?" Naoto asked.

Souji wasn't certain, not if everyone else's Persona didn't talk to them. And he had multiple Persona. Too many questions, not enough answers. "I don't know." He said. But he knew of someone that might have an answer. Igor wasn't exactly the most reliable. "Might just be whatever weirdness I have. He doesn't really tell me to do anything. Merely speaks from time to time. He usually remains pretty quiet."

Naoto watched him as they continued walking. Once they all got to the hospital, they all checked in and went through some simple physicals.

Souji, who had been required to get one for Kendo, was used to it. He was actually one of the first ones out, waiting in the hall. Kanji came out a bit later, looking a bit shaken with a slight fluster to his face. Souji chuckled a bit. "First physical huh?"

"Y-yeah. Don't really do sports at school."

Souji smiled a bit. "Relax. Every guy gets to turn his head and cough."

Kanji shook his head but took to leaning beside Souji. "So uh... What'd they say about you?"

"Lay off fishing in the rain." Souji said. "Like I thought though, minor illness. Should clear up in a day or two. Other than that, fine. A bit more fit than most athletes our age, but fine."

Kanji nodded his head. "Yeah. Said the same thing about me."

The others slowly began to come out. They waited a while longer before Teddie came out as well. Naoto eventually came out after having spoken briefly with the doctor. "Well, everyone seems to be in picture health." She said. "But they couldn't find anything about Teddie." She added.

"So nothing's wrong with him?" Chie asked.

"Yes and no." Naoto said. "As far as they can tell, he's in good health. But some of the test results they got were... Less than ideal. Ink smudging, computer crashes, even the x-rays came out blurred. I was recommended to take him to a higher quality hospital. Inaba just does not have the higher quality equipment."

"So many people have seen me bear all." Teddie sounded almost sad.

"No they haven't." Yosuke said. "She just said that they couldn't get a good read on you."

"Well, I have a surprise for everyone! Since everyone got to see me, I have the test results to everyone's exams." Teddie said and produced from behind his back a stack of files. "Let's see what sort of dirt we can dig up. Ooh, I wonder who has the shortest legs."

"Wait, if you're going to do that, why not start with the girls' measurements?" Yosuke said, sounding as though he had come up with a great idea.

"Hell no!" Chie said, about apocalyptic with rage.

"That's fine, mine are public knowledge anyways." Rise said. "Oh, but my bust is two centimeters smaller than that, my agency insisted."

Souji glanced around as Teddie shifted the folders. He saw the look of embarrassment on Yukiko's face, the one of rage on Chie's. But it was Naoto that he focused on. She had turned a paler color. And her eyes were wide. Souji simply moved.

He grabbed the files, all of them, from Teddie and wrenched them free from the blonde's hand. He then held them up over his head. He used his full height of one hundred and eighty centimeters with the additional reach of his arm half cocked over his head.

"S-sensei?" Teddie asked surprised.

Souji stepped back from the blonde boy. "Not everyone is comfortable with people finding out such private information." He said simply. He didn't look at anyone but Teddie's blue eyes, he simply held the files out slowly to Naoto. "I trust you can dispose of these properly Naoto-kun, and that you won't look."

"O-of course Senpai." Naoto said, taking the files.

Naoto walked away from the group, the strange incident being wrote off by the others slowly. She made her way towards where she knew she could dispose of the medical records. Teddie had shifted directly to her file and she hated to think of him announcing her measurements.

"Everything okay?" She jumped slightly and turned to look at Souji who had, apparently, broke from the group to come talk to her.

"Yes." She said. Her tone might have been a bit terse. "No." She said a bit more quietly thinking about who she was talking to. Souji had an impressive ability to read people.

She heard the door close. "What's wrong?" He asked her.

Naoto grit her teeth a moment. Her back was to the silver haired teen so he couldn't see it. "Having my personal information so..." She shook her head. "Just more of a reminder that..." She had to cut off that train of thought.

"A reminder of what?" He asked gently.

Naoto wanted to curse at his perceptiveness. She closed her eyes a bit and she gripped the files in her hand a moment. "That eventually I will have to cease." She said. "My Shadow was quite correct. If it were just a matter of my age, in a year or two that would be of no concern. But given my gender..." She closed her eyes. "No police prefecture will accept a woman detective that has deceived them for so long."

"Why not?" Souji asked her. He finally came into eyesight, leaning against a wall. "You're intelligent, talented, and have experience." He said.

She shook her head. "My grandfather already used his influence to get me the position of an Investigator. It is something I am eternally grateful for. But even his influence won't be enough. I have deceived so many people with the ruse of being a male. I just wanted to help." She sighed, feeling the old and familiar sting of hurt when she thought about it. "I just want to help. Some might overlook my gender, but it was difficult enough to gain some acclaim at my age. To do it all over again... Could I do it?" She asked.

"I'm sure you can." Souji told her. "As many times as it takes. You're a very driven woman." He said.

Naoto shook her head. "Why couldn't I be born a boy?" She muttered. "I built things with my hands, preferred robots to dolls or teddy bears. I had a fort in a tree because I enjoyed high places. I remember hammering the nails into place and getting some of the first calluses on my hands. My hands aren't soft like other girls'" she said.

"Maybe." Souji said. "But I for one am glad you are a girl." He said.

Immediately, like a bolt of lightning Souji summoned Izanagi to command down, embarrassment flooded through her. "Huh?!" She asked so surprised. She blushed, she could feel her face heating up. No one had ever been that direct with her before. "What's so good about being a girl?" She asked. "It doesn't make me a better detective. It's a hindrance. There's nothing good about it."

It wasn't her clashing with her Self again. Sukuna-Hikona made sure of that. She was able to accept the fact she was in fact female. She was able to accept that in some ways she still was a child. She didn't have to like them.

Faintly, she thought she heard the buzzing of wings.

Being a female would be a hindrance. Eventually someone that didn't care for her with power would speak out. Already she could hear the proverbial doors closing. It wouldn't matter how many cases she solved, or the last name she came from. Eventually, Naoto's career would come to an end due to her own lie.

"I didn't have a whole lot of time before, and I'm still not one hundred percent, making it difficult to think as well." Souji said, grabbing her attention. "But I still think you're the most dangerous person in a room at any given time." That surprised her again. But she had heard it before. "You are intelligent in ways others are not. It was your idea to get everyone checked up. You're driven. You were willing to listen to my mad ramblings about a world beyond the TV and take a dive with me in there. And you came out stronger for it. And you were the only one willing to listen to me when I said that King Moron's death didn't line up. You helped me convince the rest of his team that his killing was done by someone else."

Naoto had taken the theory of a copy cat to the Police. But they were so invested in the idea that it was all the same, that the Killer had gotten sloppy. All except Dojima.

But it seemed Souji was not finished. "Yeah, you are a girl. And..." He paused a moment, concerning her. "A beautiful one at that." She immediately looked down as the flush to her cheeks came back. "You're going to have problems because of those two facts. But I'm still glad you're a girl. Call me selfish because I am if you want. But I believe you're better as a girl, because it shows more of the drive that you have. That you refuse to let yourself be burdened by that fact and still strive to be a detective trying to make the world better, one case at a time. But would you be this driven to succeed as a boy?"

Naoto saw him shift away to go to the door and she turned. "Senpai, wait." She said. She inhaled a moment, steeling herself before she shifted through the unshred files. She grabbed her own and Rise's a moment. "Rise-san's." She said, holding it out.

Souji didn't take it, instead looked to her. "The point of this is?"

"I want to share something with you Senpai." Naoto said. Usually she would just brush the comments of being a girl and beautiful off, she had shredded countless love letters. But from Souji, standing there half asleep on his feet from illness and medication, and the way he made it sound, she couldn't so easily brush what he said off. Plus there was what she had admitted to her Shadow.

He accepted the file and opened it. Naoto stepped in and pointed out Rise's measurements with a shaky breath. "As she said, these are public domain because of her agency." Naoto very carefully opened hers and saw the difference between Rise's measurements and her own. She flushed a bit. Even an additional two centimeters didn't help Rise begin to compare. She put the other file on top of Rise's and pointed. "... My... Measurements." Her cheeks felt hot and she couldn't look at Souji. "My mother had been particularly... Gifted physically. And while it seems I have inherited my grandmother's height..." She was so embarrassed. She hated admitting she was short. One hundred and fifty two centimeters did not make a tall woman.

She took them once she was sure he had finished looking them over. She then went and very promptly shredded them, this time pushing everything through as quickly as it would go.

"Why show me?" Souji asked.

Naoto paused a bit. Why indeed. "Maybe... Maybe I want you to have a similar attraction to the one I have for you." She managed to admit. "Neither of us have time for such frivolities but it is still nice to know." She knew he had heard her admit to such a thing with her Shadow. "I assume that you do not have such time for such frivolity." She said.

Souji nodded his head. "Yeah. I suppose so. Murderer comes first. But thank you for the trust. And... Well... Mission accomplished."

Naoto blushed a bright red as Souji left the room. She was glad to be alone with her thoughts, even as they drifted to the silver haired leader of the Investigation Team.

Chapter End

 **A/N: I can't seem to stop writing. I love it, don't get me wrong, but all my thoughts keep drifting between these two stories. And this one won't be anything big or massive, just something short, succinct. Things might seem out of character, but… I'm past the point of caring too much.**

 **I wrote this wholly on my phone this time, editing a bit on my chromebook once I was done. Took me e-mailing myself three parts of the damned story.**

 **Next up with be a brief bit of the dungeon. The Void Quest dungeon. God I fucking hated that dungeon. I had to turn the music in the game off.**


	3. Chapter 3: Identity

Chapter 3: Identity

Souji stared at the train terminal, glancing at his wrist watch. Five minutes before his train got there. He turned to look over his shoulder. Hoping against hope that he'd see someone. Anyone. Surely someone would come to see him off, right? Their friendships had to have meant something, right?

But there was no one.

Had his time there been meaningless? Had the friendships and their work been for nothing? It tore at Souji's heart. He felt like it was being cut out of his chest. He felt like he was going to be sick from it. Did no one care? Had it all been a lie? Even Nanako and Dojima had left him. Dropped off and then headed away.

Nanako hadn't talked to him in weeks. Months since she called him 'Big Bro.' Naoto had finished the case and just left without so much as a goodbye. Chie, Yukiko, and Yosuke only interacted with him as much as school allowed, or work. Kanji and Rise even less so. The other friends he made had each gone their separate ways as well.

Had it all been a lie? He couldn't help but wonder on that question again. It had been so real for Souji, he had finally had friends. He had learned what it meant to smile again and actually be genuinely happy. He... He couldn't. He couldn't leave Inaba like this. He couldn't return to the cold hellish existence that had been his life before Inaba. His footsteps went forward. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down as he thought of the better times. He could hear the train coming and he took a step off the platform.

"Senpai!" A loud crash sounded as a hand grabbed at his shirt, jerking him towards the light. "We need you!"

Souji's eyes snapped open and he breathed heavily, as hard as he could, desperate for air to fill his lungs. The eight bit sphere of blocks broke apart. Souji could feel the hot tears spilling down his cheeks. Naoto stood over him, her hand fisted in his shirt. In the reflection of her glasses, he could see that he was pale. "Pull it together!" She smacked him across the face.

Souji's terrified expression turned murderous as he faced the Shadow of Mitsuo Kubo. Fury spilled forth and he gave an unarticulated roar of primal anger and hatred. Adrenaline surged through his face as tarot cards suddenly swirled around him. "I am nothing like you!" Souji bellowed as he took two steps forward, away from the sleuth. He had to believe that his friends weren't going to abandon him.

His Persona streamed forth. They made for an impressive sight, each one coming out. Fire, Wind, Lightning, Ice, curses, physical attacks, all of his Persona charged at Shadow Mitsuo with everything they had. The explosive blocks that made up the defensible armor around Shadow Mitsuo were stripped away by the actions of his Persona. They sacrificed themselves if necessary to rip at the shell.

'Izanagi!" Souji roared. The black coat wearing Persona came down from the heavens with spear in hand, bringing it down on Shadow Mitsuo to impale the infantile facade. A harsh twist came from his first Persona as it gave a guttural and metal screeching sound of rage to match Souji's fury.

Mitsuo's Shadow appeared once more. The dark haired teen got from the floor, giving a slight almost hysterical laugh. "I'm not nothing you hear me? I did it!" He shouted. The Shadow disappeared into a puff of smoke, much to the surprise of the Investigation Team.

But Souji, still seething with fury, still full of anger and hatred, he stalked over to Mitsuo and grabbed his shoulder. He spun the teen around and stepped into the punch. It was the sort of punch that anyone half trained could see coming, the sort of punch that was telegraphed and should never have hit.

But Mitsuo was hardly in the right state of mind.

Souji's fist plowed into the other boy's jaw, sending him sprawling to the ground. Souji could hear his compatriots, but he turned and began to storm off. Mitsuo wasn't the killer of anyone but Morooka. But Souji was too furious to care if the other boy lived or died at the moment. He stormed off out the gates and down the stairs. The others would catch up.

The eventually did so, Souji having taking to sitting on the stairs at the TV set. Teddie opened the path to let them out. Rise went first to give the all clear signal before they moved Mitsuo out, Yosuke and Kanji lugging Mitsuo between them. Souji could see the concerned looks he was getting as he brought up the rear and stepped out.

Souji adjusted his bag with his gear. "See you guys tomorrow." He said before he started to walk off. He wanted, needed to be alone.

Naoto adjusted the small bag she had. That had been quite unexpected and certainly out of character for Souji Seta. She had found him to be quite calm and collected, yet the seething fury that gripped him was impossible to ignore. She turned to the others. "Report this to the police. I will deal with Seta-Senpai." She said.

"Are you sure? Maybe one of us-" Rise began.

"This may require an impersonal touch." Naoto said. Frivolous attraction between them aside, Naoto was quite capable of compartmentalizing. She began to walk away, following after Souji before he got too far. Besides the need of an impersonal touch, Naoto had the means to make certain he would stay long enough to listen to her.

She caught up to him at the elevators and held the door, stepping in with him before pressing the down button. "You need coffee Seta-Senpai. My apartment is closer." Her tone brokered no argument. "If even summoning a single Persona once is draining, I cannot begin to fathom how tired you are after showing your entire deck." She said.

Souji looked like he was about to argue. But he ran a hand through his silver hair. "Fine." He said. His tone was a resigned one, and drained. Like he just didn't have it in him to argue.

Naoto pulled her cell phone out and flipped it open. She quickly pressed the current speed dial assigned to four. She brought the phone up to her ear.

" _Dojima here._ " Came the older Detective's voice.

"Dojima-san, it's Shirogane." She said. She noticed the mild surprise on Souji's face. "I've asked Seta-san to assist me in a personal project and as such he might not be home until late tonight. I would recommend going home to be with your daughter."

Dojima was quiet on the other end of the line for about a half second. " _I can't and you know that Shirogane-san. The case-_ "

"The case will cause you to burn out and right now, tonight, your daughter needs you there. Please don't be stupid Dojima-san, you've been one of the few to actually listen to my warnings." It was vague enough Dojima would understand that Souji was next to her, and that she technically wasn't allowed to talk about the case in front of a civilian. Not that Souji didn't already know, but that was neither here nor there. "I am certain you can throw yourself back to it with more vigor tomorrow."

Dojima gave a slight sound. " _Fine. You're right Shirogane-san. Make sure Souji is alright._ "

"Of course Dojima-san. Good evening." Naoto said. She waited a moment before hanging up.

"You called my uncle." Souji said, giving a flat look, almost disappointed even.

"I called your uncle so that he might return to watch over your cousin." Naoto said. "This way you won't use it as an excuse to leave. I am also aware none of your part time jobs have you scheduled for a Monday evening, so there is no excuse there." Naoto glanced over to Souji. "And I have a feeling you are already grasping at ideas on how to politely decline a cup of coffee."

Souji shook his head. "Alright Naoto-kun, you win." He said simply.

"Good." Naoto liked hearing that she won. She was a very driven, even somewhat competitive individual. She continued walking until she came to her apartment building. Inaba didn't have the large apartment complexes that some of the major cities had. In fact, the one she stayed in was one of three in the entire city. The rent was reasonable and she was able to get one on the third floor.

She liked heights.

She led Souji up to the top floor and to her apartment, opening the door. It was a very simple apartment. More Spartan than anything, with minimal personal furnishings. About the largest piece was a bookshelf with about two shelves of some of her favorites. She did have a sofa and a recliner, but still, they were well within reasonable to move up the stairs outside for professional movers.

She had been very aware of the fact that she would have an apartment on the third floor and didn't bring many things.

She went to the small kitchen. Admittedly, she was thankful the kitchen had come with a fridge. She started to prepare some coffee, grinding the beans fresh. While she would have preferred the tools and variety at the estate, she made do with the simpler things she had.

She was not expecting Souji to open her fridge and look inside. "What are you doing?" She asked him sharply.

"Seeing what you have." He began to gather a few ingredients. "You have the makings for California Rolls. You dragged me to have coffee, the least I could do is make some dinner."

Naoto didn't know how he could tell she had the makings for California Rolls. She had been saving the ingredients for when they caught Mitsuro when she could enjoy them properly. Her culinary prowess was... Limited. If she followed a recipe book, she would be fine. "I-I can do that." She cursed the embarrassed stutter.

Damn it, she enjoyed the idea of a man that could cook. And if he knew that she had the ingredients in the mess that was her fridge at a mere glance, it meant Souji Seta could invariably cook. But he already had the ingredients out and set to washing what needed washed. He set himself a small portion of the counter that he kept neat and tidy.

"You don't even know if I like California Rolls. I don't." It was a bold faced lie, they were her favorite food. Period. Especially with a bit of extra avocado included in them.

"The crab is fresh, the avocado is fresh. I bet you bought them within the last day or two." Souji said. "You're a very bad liar Naoto-kun. Besides, this soothes me."

She sighed but let him continue making the California Rolls. If it relaxed him, she could hardly fault him. "Fine." But she continued preparing the coffee. She poured him a cup. "How do you like it?"

"Surprise me." He said.

She nodded and made a second cup. She didn't measure out the sugar, she had been preparing her coffee long enough to know how she liked it. Black with a dash of sugar. She did the same to Souji' slid the cup over and stood in front of the fridge. If he wanted out of the kitchen, he would have to go through her or over the bar, and Souji did not strike her as the type to do either. She sipped from her own cup. "What happened?" She asked without preamble.

Souji was quiet, gathering his thoughts likely. "How much do you know about me?" He asked her.

"Less than I'd like to right now." Naoto said. She couldn't help him, and the Investigation Team needed its leader. And he needed to keep a level head that had not been there moments ago.

Souji finished wrapping the sushi and put it on a plate. "My father's side of the family... Owns... Seta Telecommunications." That was a touch surprising to Naoto. "My uncle actually is the current CEO. My cousin is being groomed to take over when my uncle retires. Before we owned one of the largest Telecom companies in Japan, we were still old money. Trace the line back far enough, we were Samurai." Souji drank from the coffee cup. "Kendo wasn't something I picked. It was picked for me. Dad said it'd teach me discipline."

Naoto frowned at that. Coming from a prestigious name herself, she could understand some of the obligations. But her grandfather made sure she did what she wanted, not what she was obligated to do. She was aware of a few marriage proposals sent her grandfather's way that he had promptly shredded. Shirogane wasn't necessarily as old of a name as Seta, and it didn't boast that kind of wealth, but it still held its own fame. Five Generations of Detectives with over a century of work. If she traced her line back enough, her family had contacts within the Shinsengumi.

Souji inhaled a bit. "My dad is one of my uncle's best executives. Had nothing to do with nepotism either. And because of that, we had to travel around a lot. Mom is pretty much Dad's secretary. They're a pair and they just work great." He shook his head and popped a bit of sushi into his mouth. "Every few months, a year tops, we were moving for as long as I could remember. I remember this one time, I lived over by Port Island. Made a really great friend. Bit older than me. His parents died in a car accident and he had to move away." Souji was quiet a bit. "That was my first friend I really had. I don't even remember his name anymore. At five, I barely understood that his parents died and he had to leave. And after that for the next eleven years, I didn't have any friends. I tried making some, but after about three years of having new names, new faces to remember, being unable to hang out, I started to retreat into books. Before I hit double digits in years, I was pushing myself away from my peers." Souji shook his head. "Year after year. It was all the same."

She was failing to understand how any of this contributed to that seething rage. She helped herself to the sushi. She wanted to moan at the first bite, but squashed the motion. She kept quiet to let Souji talk.

"Then I came to Inaba. Same thing as normal. Keep my guard up, fake half smile to be polite, I even called Uncle Ryotaro 'Dojima-san' my first night" Souji said. Naoto understood. It was a defense mechanism. She understood all too well. "You know, I don't even know what my dad's side of the family is like. I barely ever talk to my cousin. How fucked is it that I refer to my own cousin as Makoto-san? I don't even know what he likes. What music does he listen to? What books does he read? Does he even watch TV?" But Souji wasn't done.

"Everyone kept asking me about how I was transitioning, if I liked Inaba. I'd be polite and say I liked it. In truth, I hated it." Souji shook his head. "Not Inaba, but coming to a new town. More faces, more names, more people that would become irrelevant. And I hate saying it... But then the murders started to happen and... And I met some of the best friends I never could imagine having." A bit morbid, certainly, but having experienced the TV world, Naoto could understand. She had Souji and Kanji both throw themselves in front of her to defend her from an attack. While she wanted to admonish them both, she recognized that Kanji was resilient to lightning and Souji was adaptable.

They were a close knit group and Naoto found herself being folded in. Besides, she had returned the favor with Kanji, taking a Mudo skill without any ill effect.

"How long was I in that Sphere for?" Souji asked

"Thirty seconds maybe." Naoto said. "Kanji-kun smashed his shield against it, Yosuke-Senpai cracked it with his kunai. I got there to pull you out as Mitsuo forced them back." They had been desperate to get him out.

"Thirty seconds and I experienced every day up to the day I'm supposed to leave." Souji said. Naoto frowned at that. The rush of information had to be mind boggling. "We caught the culprit. Mitsuo had even had a valid reason for Saki Konishi and Ayumi Yamano. We caught him. You then left, without even a goodbye. Kanji and Rise were the first to drift from the group. They stayed as friends, but... Never had time to hang out whenever I asked. Yosuke got busy with work and Teddie followed suit. Always seemed to be another sale. Yukiko got busy with the Inn and Chie went to help where she could. And Souji Seta found himself without friends again. Kou and Daisuke ended up doing their thing. Never saw the fox again. Sayako went to Tokyo to become a full fledged doctor. Ai started dating a boy and had no time for me to hang out with. I couldn't summon Izanagi anymore and couldn't..." Souji looked like he wanted to say something but shook his head.

"Kuroda-san passed. Shu never wanted my help tutoring him again. Adachi got a promotion, letting him head back to the city. Eri and her boy ended up no longer coming to the daycare. Yumi's mother moved her after her father died." With each name, each excuse, Naoto felt sickened by what Souji described. The crushing unbearable loneliness he had been forced to see. "Naoki commited suicide, unable to cope with everyone trying to give him special treatment for Saki's death. Nanako eventually stopped talking to me. And Uncle Ryotaro got busy with work and finding the culprit to his wife's hit and run incident." Souji inhaled sharply as he took another swig of coffee, letting it scald his tongue.

Naoto truly felt like she was going to be ill. All those people that Souji had made friends with, was making friends with, and he was regulated to crushing loneliness. And she had just left as well. She promised herself, this time would be different. She wouldn't just leave without a goodbye.

"I was all alone on that train platform. I kept hoping someone, anyone would come see me off." Souji made a second cup. "I... I couldn't do it again. I couldn't go back and treat everyone here like another name. Another face, someone that I'd never see again. I heard the train coming and just..." He mimed taking a step forward.

Naoto winced, her eyes closing as she looked away. She didn't tell him that his fear was unreasonable, irrational. Few fears ever were. She had a fear of ghosts that had resurfaced with the discovery of the TV world. It was certainly not something she ever wanted to think about but she did acknowledge it existed.

Souji Seta was absolutely devastated by the idea of crushing loneliness after being able to make friends for the first time.

Naoto inhaled a moment. "First, thank you for telling me and not trying to wall yourself up." She said. "I think it speaks highly of your character that you are mature enough to recognize that you needed to get it off your chest, so to speak."

Souji grabbed the plate of Sushi and headed into her living room. He set it down on the kotatsu. "No use in trying to cover it up." He said.

Naoto sat directly across from him, setting her mug at its spot. "Second, I would like to berate you for thinking I would leave without a goodbye. At least to you." She said. "You, Senpai, have seen me at one of my lowest. And regardless of that, you do not think less of me. You have done an admirable job in trying to make me feel welcome, and the others have followed your lead. I do not know how long I will be staying in Inaba after this case, but I will be seeing it through to the end, and if and when I do leave, I expect you to see me off at the train station. And when you do leave, I will be there to see you off if I am still here."

Souji gave a slight chuckle. "Always on the move, aren't we?" He asked a bit ruefully.

Naoto hesitated a moment. Her sofa was a bit more intimate than she would have enjoyed for sitting with company. Thankfully she had a recliner as well. She ate another piece of the delicious sushi. "Not tonight." She said after a moment. "So sit on the sofa, make yourself at home, help me finish off these delicious California Rolls and a pot of hot coffee. Tonight, Souji-Senpai, let us merely forget about the case, and simply talk as friends."

There were still things Naoto didn't know about Souji Seta, and things Souji didn't know about Naoto Shirogane. But Naoto felt like she made a step in the right direction. They talked and shared quiet laughs over the food and eventually moved to the sofa and recliner. When Naoto went to shut the coffee pot off, she had barely finished filling her cup when she heard something that brought a smile to her face.

She stood at the counter of the kitchen's bar, sipping the cup of coffee. "Goodnight... Souji-kun." She allowed herself the suffix a moment while she watched the softly snoring older teen sleep.

She got a spare blanket to cover him with before she went to ready herself for bed. She hoped he felt better in the morning.

Chapter End

 **A/N: So I don't think it ever really says what the protagonist's folks do for a living. But I thought I'd make it interesting, Souji's a rich kid that hates that life. The life of expectations and duty because to him it is crushingly lonely.**

 **Maybe a bit cliche, I dunno.**


End file.
